Yasnaya Polyana, Kaliningrad Oblast
Yasnaya Polyana (Russian: Я́сная Поля́на; German: Trakehnen, from 1929 Groß Trakehnen; Lithuanian: Trakėnai; Polish: Trakany) is a rural settlement (posyolok) in the Nesterovsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the oblast, north of the Romincka Forest. Nearby Diwnoje Nowoje is a railway station on the former Prussian Eastern Railway from Kaliningrad to Kybartai in Lithuania.
The settlement was originally known as the village of Trakehnen in East Prussia, named after the Old Prussian word trakis, meaning "great bog". In 1731 King Frederick William I of Prussia had the swampy territory of the Pissa River drained to establish the famous warmblood Trakehner horse breed stable (Königliches Stutamt Trakehnen) northwest of the municipality. The area was colonized by Protestant expellees from the Archbishopric of Salzburg.
Intended for the build-up of an own breeding supplying the Prussian Army cavalry, the stud farm at the time of its opening in 1732 had about 1,100 horses standing on an area of 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi). The "Soldier King" however soon became dissatisfied with the poor efficiency of the stud farm and in 1739 granted it to his son, crown prince Frederick II of Prussia. Upon Frederick's death in 1786, it was taken over by the Prussian state and renamed Königlich Preußisches Hauptgestüt Trakehnen. In professional hands, the stud and the village of Trakehnen prospered from that time on.
...
Wikipedia